KWIT: Regional News for 9/18 (2008-09-18)

In Iowa...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Iowa attorney general's office says
the state has had its first conviction of human trafficking under a
law that took effect in 2006.
Officials say a Crawford County jury found Leonard Ray Russell
guilty of human trafficking last week.
Prosecutors say Russell recruited and harbored two Nebraska
girls last year for the purpose of commercial sexual activity,
including prostitution and performing at strip clubs. They say the
girls, ages 15 and 16, were runaways.
Attorney General Tom Miller says human trafficking is a bigger
problem in Iowa than most people realize. He says the underground
nature of the crime makes it hard to combat.
He called the new trafficking law a valuable tool.

WAUKON, Iowa (AP) - Agriprocessors officials have pleaded not
guilty to thousands of charges of child labor law violations.
None of the defendants appeared in person yesterday in Allamakee
County District Court, instead entering written pleas.
The hearing was the initial appearance for six defendants: the
plant's owner, Aaron Rubashkin; former plant manager Sholom
Rubashkin; the plant's human resources manager, Elizabeth
Billmeyer; and Laura Althouse and Karina Freund, who are management
employees in the human resources division. Agriprocessors, Inc.
also is charged in the case.
Because the charges are misdemeanors, the defendants are allowed
to waive their right to a court appearance. The next step will be
setting a date for trial.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - An animal rights group is calling for
increased oversight of factory farms to prevent the kind of abuse
found in an undercover investigation at a hog farm in western Iowa.
The call came as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
announced it had filed complaints against a farm near Bayard after
an undercover employee filmed workers abusing pigs.
The video graphically depicts abuse by workers at the farm,
which is a supplier to Hormel Foods in Austin, Minn.
PETA officials say they are working to enhance government
regulation over the treatment of farm animals.
Telephone and e-mail messages left yesterday for officials with
the USDA and the Iowa Department of Agriculture were not
immediately returned.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) - Officials at Hempstead High in Dubuque
discovered a bomb threat scribbled on the wall of a restroom stall.
The threat, which was discovered Tuesday, was for Sept. 19.
Investigations by school's staff and the Dubuque Police Department
found no additional threats.
Dubuque Community School District superintendent John Burgart
said in a press release that there's no evidence to indicate that
it is a credible threat.
Burgart added that the school and the district will implement
additional security measures to ensure the safety of students and
staff.

In Nebraska...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A dispute between Muslim workers and
management at the JBS Swift & Co. plant in Grand Island isn't the
first.
The plant had the same problems last year when Muslim workers
sought accommodations to make their sunset prayer. Dozens of
workers in that dispute quit their jobs in protest. They eventually
returned to work.
Local union president Dan Hoppes says the problem was never
fixed last year. That's one of the reasons he says it emerged again
in recent days.
Hoppes says management at the JBS Swift & Co. plant has agreed
to temporarily change the timing of the second-shift lunch break.
That will give workers time to pray during the Muslim observance of
Ramadan.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A judge says statements by a student to
police after a fraternity house fire at Nebraska Wesleyan
University can be used in court.
Brandon Lovegrove of Grafton is charged with attempted
first-degree arson for the fire at Phi Kappa Tau on Nov. 17, 2006.
The fire happened hours before a second fire that left one student
dead.
Lovegrove is accused of setting a calendar on fire. Another
student stomped it out in a hallway.
Lovegrove's attorney has argued that Lovegrove's statements to
police should be kept out of his trial, because officers never read
him his rights.
A Lancaster County judge says Lovegrove went to the police
station voluntarily, and that while Lovegrove was not told he could
leave, he was never handcuffed or restrained.

In South Dakota...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Farm groups are crying foul over the
Agriculture Department's use of a new food labeling law. They say
it has loopholes that will allow meatpackers to avoid labeling
packages of meat as exclusively U.S. products.
The law is scheduled to take effect at the end of the month.
Agriculture Department spokesman Billy Cox says it's still under
discussion and farm groups are being taken seriously.
Montana Senator Jon Tester has written Agriculture Secretary Ed
Schafer to ask him to fix the problem.
North Dakota Farmers Union President Robert Carlson says the
loophole is catering to the meatpackers rather than following the
intent of Congress, consumers, farmers and ranchers.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Representative Stephanie Herseth
Sandlin says South Dakota will get an additional $620,264 in Low
Income Home Energy Assistance Program money from the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
The money helps states and American Indian tribes provide grants
to eligible low-income people to help them meet immediate home
energy needs.
In a release, Herseth Sandlin said South Dakota has received
about $16 million in LIHEAP funds in 2008.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Dozens of groups have announced a
coordinated effort to defeat Initiative 10 on South Dakota's ballot
in November.
Initiative 10 would restrict political donations by people with
some state contracts, ban government-funded lobbying, and require a
state Web site listing all state contracts.
Dave Owen with the Chamber of Commerce says the proposal is
portrayed as another step toward clean and open government, but
would instead gag the political rights of citizens.
In response, supporters of Initiative 10 say it would block some
of the very funding sources that opponents will use to pay for
their 'vote no' campaign.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - State Education Secretary Rick Melmer has
testified that South Dakota's school districts are providing an
excellent education to students across the state.
Melmer was a witness for the state in its defense against a
lawsuit that alleges the state inadequately funds education. He
testified about halfway through a six-week trial in the lawsuit.
Melmer says students' test scores indicate South Dakota's school
districts are doing a good job. He says spending does not correlate
with student achievement.